Cage for ball or roller bearings



Sept. 29, 1936. M S 2,055,524

CAGE FOR BALL OR ROLLER BEARINGS 7 Filed Feb. 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l 2 5 1/ n 4 3 \4/ \J I 9 I llllllm 4 I INVENTOR:

1/3 CWW y M fl ws Sept. 29, 1936. ELLIS 2,055,524

CAGE FOR BALL OR ROLLER BEARINGS -Filed Feb. 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2, J I a 6 H M 9 Y 5 Patented Sept. 29, 193 6 "(hemorrhageRousenames I Llewellyn ltiilfiirdEllis, Birmingham, England,

' assignor to The Timken Roller Bearing'Comfpany' Canton, Ohio, a. corporation of Ohio I According o s nr i ia hl nsrdved a eomr e a outshinesl un rimr sedr rl rranged race to face ,andhaving apertures ,tol revha e the all or ol ers hri ett t m w or p i e i vQat r d wit al a era f e:- t n s flan th fla e b thetwq r e S xtending awayfrom one anotherin, opposite ire i aans h me adap fta tlbe w th races of the bearing, sothat, one or other-of, :the :15 ra e mar h n a hr e. fit dfla t and ,the two rings 1 thereby. maintained centrally or substantially, centrally,,lrelatively [to the, balls I or rollers. or maintained,substantially crud-way, between theraces. w rfigure l of, the; accompanying drawings isla H sectional ,view or a thrust bearingzhaving cylindrical, rollers and fitted with a cage constructed inaccordancewiththis invention, i Figure Zls a plan viewpfthe, cage removed, 25 showing the apertures lorthe rollers "II I Tligure ,3 represents a cross-section throughone of the two rings which form the cage;

Figure 4 shows the invention applied to a bearing having tapered rollers, the cag being of substantially the same construction as that shown in the preceding figures.

Figure 5 shows the application of the invention to a ball bearing.

Figure 6 illustrates a slightly modified con- 35 struction.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, the thrust bearing comprises a series of cylindrical rollers i arranged between upper and lower races 2 and 3, the upper race 2 being adapted to be fixed,

49 for example, to a rotating vertical shaft, or other rotatable part, and the lower race 3, which is enclosed by an outer casing t, being intended to be carried by a fixed support. The opposed faces of the two races 2 and t are flat, and the rollers i as are arranged between these opposed faces so that their axes are disposed radially relatively to the centres of the races, the rollers being spaced. peripherally around the latter and being maintained at equal distances apart by means oi. a cage. go This cage consists, according to this invention,

of two sheet metal rings 5 and 5 having large central openings for the shaft, and each formed with a series of peripherally-spaced rectangular apertures l for the rollers, each of the said apertures being of a size slightly larger than the axial *5'Claixns; (Cl. sea-23s) s ct onal p may :fiteasilyover. the Widest portion for the same. 'Ifhese two r ngstgggna 6; which iorm the cage, are ."of, equal diameters and are superimposed, or ar- ;ranged,fac" to face, sothatthe rollerfapertures I in.,.the tw ,ringsj register 'or coincide; whilst formed integral Iwith the outer jedge or each" ring l sfi li a n a ng th -[t ne havin tfie 8 and, the; ring; 6 Qbeing" formed with a flange 9. These two flanges 8 andGare, similar in form, be 10 ing each, set at right-angles to the planefof the f the bear bf the roller, that it ringloy which it is carried, but the said *flanges are arranged to enti e laterally in opp ositefdiirections, as shown, so that ftheir outer; edges are j'presented towards the respective races 2 and 3 of ;,ms. "ril sen outerjedges ofi'thejflanges e adapted" to eo-operate with the races a late v forf thepurposeof maintaining the "cagein posiv Iltion ..hetween the latter, in such amanner that t W l "the rollers I, eithenfiange being adapted to enjgage onefof the races, according tothep'osition [of thebearing'. in the'arrangementillustrated inFigure 1 the fia'ngefhis shownresting \on' the lower race 3, sothat thecage rings 5 and t are supported centrally intheir correct positions, aslight clearance beingleit between the "gsS and, t liecentrallyrelatively to 20 flange t and the upper race. If, on the other hand, the bearing is reversed the flange 8 would rest upon the race 2 and thus support the cage, and it will be obvious that the rings will be maintained centrally, or substantially centrally, in place, relatively to the rollers and race members, whatever he. the position of the bearing. Also by providing flanges at the outer edges of the rings a maximum wearing surface is provided when the cage comes into contact with the casing t,

The flanged rings for forming the cage may be pressed up from sheet metal blanks, or they 4 may be formed in any other suitable manner; whilst, if desired, the two rings may be secured together, by welding or other means.

In the arrangement illustrated in Figure 4, which shows the application of the inventionto a taper roller bearing, the cage is of substantially the same constructionas above described, consisting of two rings ti and t with pressed-up flanges 8 and 9 extending in opposite directions towards the races 2 and 3, so that the rings are maintained centrally in place, the only difference being in the shape of the aligned apertures l in the rings, the said apertures being of a taper shape corresponding to the taper formation of the rollers it. In the ball bearing shown in Figt5 ure 5, the cage is again of the same construction, comprising metal rings and 6 having flanges 8 and 9 extending towards the top and bottom races 2 and 3 of the bearing; the apertures I in" cage is of the same construction as above described, comprising 'two flanged rings 5 and 6 with laterally extending flanges 8 and 9, but fitted around the cage, between the flanges 8 and 9 of the latter and the cover or casing 4 housing the races 2 and 3 of the bearing, is a wearing ring l2. The object of this ring, which may be made of an anti-friction metal, such as brass or gun metal, .or of hardened steel, is to prevent wear of the casing 4 owing to the rubbing action of the cage when being rotated.

Having fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is: LA thrust bearing comprising opposed race members, rolling elements between said members, a cage for said rolling elements, said cage comprising two dished pressings arranged back to back with their outer edges extending towards the respective race members, a casing holding the race members together, and a wear ring between the peripheral portion of said casing and theperipheral portion of the cage. 2. An anti-friction bearing comprising opposed race members, anti-frictionelements, be-

tures to loosely receive the anti-friction elements,

. each ring being provided at its outer edge with a laterally-extending flange, the flanges of the two rings fitting between the race members and extending away from one another in opposite di-- opposed race members, anti-friction elements between the said race members, a. cage for said anti-friction elements supported entirely by said race members, the said cage comprising a pair of one-piece rings arranged face to face in a plane radial to the axis of the bearing and having apertures to loosely receive the anti-friction elements, each ring being provided at its outer edge with a continuous and integral cage-centralizing flange disposed in the direction of the axis of the bearing, the flanges of the two rings engaging between the races and extending away from one another in opposite directions, so that the outer edge of each flange is opposed to a race member and may co-operatetherewith to hold the cage substantially mid-way between the race members.

4. An anti-friction bearing comprising opposed race members, anti-friction elements between the said race members, a cage for said anti-friction elements supported entirely by said race members, said cage comprising a pair of one-piece rings secured together face to face and having plain unflanged apertures toloosely receive the anti-friction elements, each ring being provided at its outer edge with a continuous and integral cage-centralizing flange extending in the direction of the axis of the bearing, the flanges of the two rings being disposed between the races and extending away from one another in opposite directions, so that the outer edge of each ,flange is opposed to a race memberand may cooperate therewith to hold the cage substantially mid-way between the race members.

5. A cage for an anti-friction bearing comprising two rings secured together face to face and having flanged outer edges extending in opposite directions force-operation with the opposed faces of the respective races of the bearing, so that the .edge of either flange may engage the adjacent race, according to the position of position, the said rings having registering apertures loosely to receive rolling bearing elements 'disposed between. the races.

LLEWELLYN MILFORD ELLIS.

the bearing, to maintain the cage centrally in 

